The Bottom Line: " The friendliest Saabs I have driven lately,
even with its
quirky transmission hump-mounted ignition. Performance is very good with
regard to power and handling. Styling is less Saab-ish with the Aero
package.
In the past, I have found Saabs, especially the 9-3, to be disappointing.
They were very good cars when I first drove them, 15 or so years ago, but
the
iconic Swedish manufacturer has done little to improve, or even change,
their
models. The union with GM has brought the 9-7 sport utility vehicle, but
that's really a Chevy in disguise, so that doesn't count.

I know I've driven the Aero package on the Saab 903
before, but the one
featured in this week's Auto Page is a great improvement over
previous editions.
First, it doesn't look that Saab-ish, and to me
that's a good thing. Saab's
styling, to my eye, has always needed improvement, and the slight tweaks
over
the years have really done little to improve it.

The Aero package, however, puts a new spin on Saab design. Yes,
it's truly
aerodynamic, and the side profile shows a rakishness that's
unusual for Saab.
It may be more American looking, but that's not a bad thing.
Saabs of the recent past have relied too much on the 2.0-liter turbocharged
four-cylinder engine. True, this engine has been modernized and updated so
that it now develops 210 horsepower, but it's still
overworked. The 9-3 Aero I
drove recently had a (again turbocharged) 2.8-liter double overhead cam V6
that develops 255 hp. While it still needs a turbocharger to gain maximum
power, this engine is larger and, therefore, working less hard to get that
power.
The result is smoother performance and decent economy.

We did encounter some torque steer on hard acceleration. Torque steer is
the
tendency of the engine to try to turn the wheels when you apply maximum
power. It isn't as serious in the 9-3 as it has been in some
cars I've driven,
but it still was there. Once you recognize it, it becomes almost invisible
as
you get to know the car better.

The engine is connected to a 6-speed automatic transmission with a
manual
mode. The manual mode makes use of paddles mounted on the steering wheel to
upshift or downshift. To upshift, you push the paddle on the right, to
downshift, push the paddle on the left. The
steering is quick enough that
you don't have to move your hands around the wheel to keep it
on the road, so
the paddles are always within reach.

Besides the shift paddles, the smart steering wheel has information and
phone switches on the left side and audio controls on the right. As with
most
GM-based vehicles, cruise control is on the turn signal stalk.

The instrument panel is clean, with three major dials; a tachometer,
speedometer and oil pressure/water temperature/turbo boost.
There's an information
center in the center that gives fuel economy, distance to empty, etc.

There's one cupholder, mounted in the dash. While I would
have preferred
more, the one is neat because of the way it operates.

The audio system was excellent, even though we kept it primarily on XM.
There's also an AUX input to go with AM/FM and CD.

The front seats are comfortable with good side support and neat styling,
that includes contrasting stripes by the seat bolsters.
There's excellent head
room in the front, as it should be. In the rear, knee room is tight with
the
front seat at a reasonable position. There is good side support to the rear
seats. The rear head rests are mounted low when there are no rear
passengers,
but can be adjust upward when there are. Rear vision for the driver is thus
not
impeded.

I like the integrated hand brake that looks like it simply matches a
similar
structural member on the right. The sliding center console top doubles as
an
adjustable arm rest.

As with most Saabs, trunk capacity is excellent. The rear seat backs
fold to
increase capacity, ad the releases for the backs are in the trunk, to make
them easily accessible.

To sum up, the Saab 9-3 Aero is a nice car, if overpriced. Performance
is
decent, economy isn't bad, and it's
comfortable.

The following titles and media identifications are trademarks
owned by The Auto Channel, LLC and have been in continuous use
since 1987: The Auto Channel, Auto Channel and TACH all have
been in continuous use world wide since 1987, in Print, TV,
Radio, Home Video, Newsletters, On-line, and other interactive
media; all rights are reserved and infringement will be acted
upon with force.